Monday, March 28, 2011

I DO NOT mistrust government. I mistrust human nature. Any institution in which people are involved can be misused, abused, corrupted. It is not the fault of the institution, per se; though some structures may more readily be subverted than others, all are ultimately corruptible.

This is true of more than just government, of course. All organizations -- businesses, religions, charities, even families -- have this same vulnerability. There will be those who abuse their power, those who subvert the system to their own ends, those who are irresponsible. There will be entrenched interests acting for their own good, while perceiving and believing it to be for the good of all. There will be those who see any thwarting of their personal desires as tyranny.

A perfect form of government will never exist -- not democracy, not monarchy, not the dictatorship of some earnest group of reformers. It can not exist for humans are not perfect. The best we can do is seek balance and keep an ever-vigilant eye on those in power.

And, perhaps, an even more vigilant eye on those who seek to be in power.